Breathing heavy I came up alongside of the back of the church. The door was locked as I had expected it would be.
I rapped on it lightly, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention. If I could avoid being seen by anyone in town all the better.
This third visit within a week might really arouse some suspicions and above all I didn't need anyone dropping by my house while the girl was there. It took a while, but eventually the door opened and Pastor Joseph wordlessly pulled me inside.
Closing the door he locked it and in a serious tone he asked, "What's up Adam?"
I glanced at two nearby girls and said, "Somewhere more private maybe?"
Pastor nodded and led the way. Soon we were in his office and with the door closed, we both sat down.
"You look rough Adam. It's like you haven't slept all night on top of walking all the way back to town again."
I nodded and meeting his gaze I told him what had happened. Of all the people left in my acquaintance he was the only one I absolutely trusted.
He listened, saying nothing and for a while quiet reigned within the office after I had finished talking. Then, glancing at me he said thoughtfully, "You say she's Chinese looking?"
Shaking my head I said, "No, I mean, yes, I guess. Really, she looks more Indonesian than Chinese, but it's like Chinese to some degree with a little bit of European thrown in there in the shape of her nose and some of the proportions of her face."
Pastor nodded and then giving me a direct look he asked, "Is she pretty?"
The question had been unexpected and inadvertently I felt my face flush red as I relived the moments of imagery of my patient's naked form. Husky voiced I said, "Yes."
He nodded and got up. Going to the door, he said, "Come with me Adam."
Feeling a bit unsure of what he was up to I followed along dutifully. We came to an overlook of the area below that was filled with screaming children dodging around in an old-fashioned rendition of dodgeball within the church's sanctuary.
Not being able to stop myself, I smiled at their antics that for a moment took me somewhere to a better time than the one we now fought to survive in. Pastor's voice startled me as he said, "Being of the Far Eastern build I suspect she's a bit slighter of stature. That teenage girl over by the church door, would she be approximately the right size as your lady?"
Giving the girl a thorough look I nodded, "Close. She's maybe a little taller and wider in the hips, but less pronounced so in the chest."
"Got it. Now go back and lie down for a bit and I'll get some stuff together for her."
I really didn't want to stay long, but I grudgingly had to admit I could use some rest. Going back to his office, I lay down on the couch and the peace of a righteous man's place that had experienced much prayer overwhelmed me and I was asleep within moments.
~~~~~~~
"Adam. Time to go." Came a voice from nearby and startled I sat up with one hand reflexively going to my knife tucked away in a boot.
Pastor Joseph smiled appreciably at the action and recognizing him I sat up and put my feet on the floor as I did my best to rid myself of sleep.
"How long was I out?"
"Oh, just a little over an hour. Come now, we best be going on or I won't get back before dark."
Startled by his comment I took in the rough clothes that he had donned and asked with surprise, "You're coming along?"
"I am. I've been meaning to come out for some time. Things are getting worse here in town and if the day calls for it sometime I might need to evacuate the children someday and well yours is the only place that comes to mind."
Nodding seriously, I said, "You're welcome to come. I mean that."
"I know you do Adam. You're a good man."
Feeling embarrassed I got up and quickly we both went downstairs and out the back door that I had come through earlier. A serious faced teenage girl closed and locked the door behind us.
I prayed for the children's safety in the absence of their protector and from the silently moving lips of my companion I surmised that he was doing much the same. The journey went swiftly under the hot sun, with thankfully no unwanted occurrences to mar the journey as had occurred yesterday.
As we made our way through the wilderness I made sure to point out landmarks by which to go by and being ever the one to pay attention to detail Pastor notated them down on a scrap of paper. The more I thought about it the more sense it made to have the children at the homestead and I said as much to him.
He nodded, "The time is coming for that I fear, but not yet."
His reasoning didn't make sense to me, but I left it unquestioned. Robbie came out barking and looking truly ferocious and some part of me relaxed at the sight of him and his familiar bark.
"Relax boy, he's a friend." I said.
Robbie sniffed suspiciously, but relented with his aggression to allow Pastor Joseph to accompany me across the yard and into the house. I went ahead of Pastor into the bedroom and it was a good thing because her hand touched the gun lying on the sheet at the sight of another man with me.
I was about to speak up and gesture for her to know that he was a friend, when with surprise, I heard the same foreign-language the girl spoke rattle fluently from off of my friend's lips. The girl visibly relaxed at whatever Pastor had said to her.
Pastor glanced to me and smiling, he said, "Perhaps you could give us some privacy."
"Yeah, sure." I said awkwardly, as I backed my way out of the room and closed the door. Feeling lost I sat down at the kitchen table for a moment before it occurred to me how bad I stank of the smell of sweat.
I glanced at the closed door and listened to the quite rapid sound of foreign voices from within for a moment. The conversation didn't show any signs of letting up and so I made off to get clean.
An hour later feeling much better and dressed in fresh clothes I reentered the kitchen. I'd even taken the time to shave.
The door was still closed and I debated about what to do. I went to the stove and went about reheating the leftover broth from this morning.
The door opened and I glanced up to see Pastor. He saw the broth in my hand and said, "Ahhh good! She's starving take it into her and then come back out and we'll have a chat."
I glanced at him oddly, but did as ordered. Stepping into the room with the broth the girl's eyes were quick to rise to mine and hold me with their usual mesmerizing grip.
I handed the broth off to her awkwardly, as her eyes seemed to gaze upon me with a heightened fervency than before. She thanked me again and I nodded as I made my way back out of the room. Just what had they been talking about for over an hour?
Pastor gestured to the table he was sitting down at and dutifully I sat down. Gazing at me speculatively, he asked, "What are you going to do Adam?"
I glanced to the bedroom. Glancing back, I said, "I was hoping you could help me with that. Once she's better she'll be able to travel, but is there any way you can convince her not to wear that face covering of hers? She really doesn't look all that Middle Eastern at all being more Asian looking than anything. I think she could make it if she ditches the Muslim garb."
Pastor was shaking his head back and forth and was giving me a look that said I didn't get it.
"What?" I asked defensively, not caring for his way of looking at me at all.
"Adam, do you seriously think the best thing for that young woman in there is to be turned out onto the open road as soon as she can walk? Muslim or no Muslim a woman on her own like that doesn't stand a chance. Think of what you would be sentencing her to Adam!"
"Hey look here Pastor I did my part and risked my life to save her when nobody else would have, except for maybe you. What more do you want from me?"
"Well, for starters, you could marry her." Pastor said matter-of-factly without even blinking an eye.
I felt myself go hot all over and the urge to protest such a notion rose sharply within me, "But....
"But what?" Pastor interjected with just as passionately as I was in the moment.
"She's a Muslim!"
"So?" Pastor responded back with evenly.
"Well, I thought you weren't supposed to be an unequally yoked and whatnot with an unbeliever." I said floundering about for something to say.
"The Scripture does frown upon it, but in the end Scripture does not forbid it so I see nothing wrong with suggesting it to you. This is a unique situation. If she walks out that door, she's dead Adam and you know it. Being an unbeliever as she is tell me what that means."
My mind went instantly to the faceless people I had buried yesterday.
"That's right, it's not a good outcome. Have you become so hard that you can't see to make the situation work out for someone else other than yourself?"
"That's hitting below the belt a bit Pastor." I cautioned.
"I know that, but what is it going to take to open your eyes, Adam? Through that door lies a young lady whose life is in your hands. Now tell me why you went to the effort of saving her only to deliver her up to her execution tomorrow?"
I didn't have an answer for that and so I looked away and remained silent.
Mumbling, I said, "She's dead if they find out that she's here."
"Not necessarily." Pastor commented before adding, "It's clear that she's of Asian origin and her language only testifies of that. You're in a unique situation here that might just be able to pull off a homerun if an investigation were ever to be launched. You're a farmer and lots of farmers, some even in this area, in the past got mail order Asian brides as women can be hard to come by who are willing to share a lonely existence out here apart from society's former allures. You don't volunteer any information about yourself and for all purposes no one would suspect a thing for you being the lone wolf that you are to have a mail-order bride."
He painted a convincing picture, but he was leaving something out.
"Even if I did marry her, she wouldn't marry me Pastor. I'm a Christian!"
Pastor sat back in his chair and said, "Actually, Adam she has agreed to do just that. Not only that, but she's agreed to give up practicing her Muslim faith as not to endanger you."
I swallowed figuratively, as I felt a noose tightening about my throat.
"You have a great opportunity here to witness your faith to her. As it is you've made quite the positive impression on her already."
"I have?" I asked doubtfully.
"You have. Now is not the time to lose being a witness for a soul contemplating the way it should go in life. Matters of the spirit put aside there are other things to be considered." Giving me a direct look, then he said, "She's quite pretty isn't she. High time you had some help around here, and if I may be so bold as to say a bit of sexual release. You remind me of a powder keg, Adam. You keep getting twisted tighter and tighter and if you're not careful you might just blow up one day soon and as you're my friend I don't want that to happen. She needs to stay here, but again as your friend I can't let you stay together and potentially risk you to the temptation that she represents and thus make you sin against God. No, you need to see the facts and the fact is I think she'll be good for you. How about it, Adam?"
I turned my gaze away to the floor for a long moment before nodding my head in defeat to what he had proposed. Pastor stood up and putting a hand to my shoulder, he said, "You haven't made a mistake Adam. I'm sure of it."
"That makes one of us anyway." I said morosely, as he headed off back to the bedroom.
A couple of minutes later to my surprise, he reappeared with her. I wasn't quite prepared for the sight of her in blue jeans and a tank top T-shirt.
His arm around her, supporting her he helped her sit down in his chair. Glancing at me he said, "Her name is JaLin. Now I think we had better get started with this."
Before I knew it, he was quoting marriage vows out by heart first for me in English and then in the dialect of her Asiatic language. Before too long I realized with some astonishment that I was a married man.
"Well, that finishes it now. You can kiss after I'm gone. I really need to be headed back."
Numbly I nodded and getting up I awkwardly made for the bedroom. Coming back from it, I extended out the handgun that I had given to JaLin earlier to Pastor and said, "In case things should happen."
He nodded thoughtfully as he stowed it out of sight in a pocket and said in a way that had a deeper reflected meaning to it than just the surface context of the words, "Thank you Adam."
Stepping forward, he patted me hard on the back and then he was out the door and headed for town as fast as his feet could carry him back to his chief most priority in life. I admired him more than all other men I had ever encountered in life, but this time he had really handed me a situation.
Slowly my eyes left him to come to rest upon my wife's gaze. There was no doubt about it, she was a beautiful woman and dressed as she was now in a raggy T-shirt and a pair of tight blue jeans there was little left to argue against in terms of the erotic allure that she possessed as uniquely her own.
Coming unglued I rubbed at my stomach and asked, "Hungry?"
She nodded in a way that said she was starving and it was a look that I would never deny anyone anything let alone my own wife. Turning I went to a cupboard and proceeded to pick out some of my carefully hoarded cans of food.
Feeding her full with something of quality was suddenly very important to me. I went about opening cans only to realize that I was half starved for food myself.
Truly though I was far more hungry for her than for food and now she was mine. I could do anything I wanted with her and it would be all right.
Closing my eyes against the sudden upsurge of all the fantasies engendered by my mind in relation to her I whispered, "God help me!"
"I already have."
There was just no denying the trap that had been sprung expertly upon me and I gave in and stopped resisting it on the spot. Turning I pointed to the cans on the counter and tentatively she pointed to the can of peaches.
She had a sweet tooth it would seem. I delivered the can and a fork to her.
My hand was moving away when her slim but strong fingers curled around it briefly. I glanced up and the look I saw in her eyes needed no explanation. She was grateful for everything.
Nodding my head I said, "My pleasure." I turned away and back to the other cans as my heart beat funny in my chest.
I went about making the fire in the stove so I could warm up the chicken noodle soup for her, but all the time my mind dwelt upon that look she'd given me. That look had promised everything and increasingly I realized when it came to her that I wanted everything.